Wildlife, Redwoods, and Food

Road Trip to Seattle 2016

Williams to Crescent City, California May 31, 2016

After a simple continental breakfast of muffins, fruits and coffee at the Traveller's Inn, which we just got what we needed from the tiny office and brought back to our room, we were ready to start our day traveling west to Hwy 101 via Hwy 20. We saw on the map that Hwy 20 was marked as a scenic route passing through a place called Clear Lake and figured that we should check it out. When I posted my questions on Tripadvisor forum, I was told that it is not really that scenic so I had lowered my expectation. Little did we know what was in stored for us.

It was easy to get on Hwy 20 from the motel, just a short drive out and we were on the empty highway. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city as we drove along this quiet road.

Nice and quiet.

Starting the climb up the hills.

Vineyards, ranches, and farms dotted along the highway.

When we saw a "Scenic Lookout" sign, we just had to stop.

First thing that I noticed as I got out of the car, was a dried up tree with some huge birds resting on the branches. They turned out to be vultures. Many flew away as I was getting ready to take some pictures but managed to get a photo of this guy.

A small creek down below.

Clear Lake

As we were driving near Clear lake, we were disappointed that although we could see parts of the lake but we couldn't find places to stop and park our cars. Seemed like private properties occupied most of the land along the lake. Not until we reached a town called Lucerne, where we found a little park by the roadside with ample parking spaces next to the lake.

I believe this was called Alpine Park.

We were stunned by how big and beautiful this lake is.

After the little town of Lucerne, we also went past Nice before leaving the lake area and got on Hwy 101 near Calpella.

Driving north on 101.

Willits is the "Gateway to the Redwoods" and home of the famous Skunk Train. We have never stopped here but every time we past through, I kept telling myself that we have to spend some time here in the future.

Time for a restroom break. A rest stop right by the highway.

Peg House, Leggett, California

At around noon, we arrived at our lunch spot for the day--"Peg House" in Leggett. There isn't much in Leggett but this is the second time we stopped here to get lunch. After reading the recommendation on Sunset Magazine, which named Peg House as one of the best road-trip food stops, we made a stop here in 2013 on our way up north. We came back this time just so ChC could try out their famous burgers. They used to have an old police car out front but it's gone now.

Read their story here.

The store which sells many different things, including interesting souvenirs, groceries, books, sandwiches and hardware. Kind of like a general store, I guess.

The restaurant part of the place.

Salmon burger $8.50

Sunset Burger $10

As you can see, not cheap eats, and not the best burgers, but good quality. I remember they used sesame buns in 2013 but now they are just using Costco torta rolls. Disappointed.

For the experience, it was fine. Just don't go to the restrooms in the back.

$5 dessert

Stage for concerts in the evening.

The place was quieter than our last time there. I wonder if business is going downhill?

Front of the 'general store'.

It's a pleasant drive along this part of 101, passing through little towns, tall redwoods, and beautiful mountains. We took a detour at the southern entrance of the Avenue of the Giants, but decided to skip it and got back on 101 as we were pushing for time. 

After getting gas at the Costco in Eureka, we thought that we should stop at the Carson Mansion for a look which we have never done. It's not open for the public but at least we can take some photos outside.

Carson Mansion, Eureka, California

This beautiful structure was built in 1885, it's now a private club.

It is certainly pretty, sitting right near the ocean.

Across from the mansion is the "Pink Lady", a wedding gift from the Carsons to their son.

Redwood National Park

From Eureka to Crescent City, where we planned on spending the night, we needed to past through Rewood National Park. As we were approaching closer to the Visitor Center on Redwood Highway, all traffic stopped near the intersection of the Red School house area. This was the reason...

Elks strolling right in front of our car.

Taking their sweet old time.

And there were plenty more in the meadow near the Elk Campground. Wished we had taken our RV and spend the night here with the elks.

Redwood National Park Visitor Center

Pretty wild flowers.

Sign post warning the danger as we walked towards the beach.

Walkway right outside the back of the building to the beach.

Beautiful scenery at the picnic area, a short drive from the Visitor Center.

On Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway through the park.

We only  made a couple of stops here, and the "Big Tree" area was the first one.

We took a short walk along the path ...

through many huge trees...

and interesting ones too

to the Big Tree

We have been through this part of the park many times, so I was not as excited as before. It was still nice driving among these gigantic trees though. Once we got back on 101, we continued north and as soon as we went past Klamath River, we made an exit on 169, and found the "Klamath Tour Thru Tree" nearby. 

Klamath Tour Thru Tree

This is a privately owned sight and entrance fee was $5 per car. It was on honor system as there was no one at the gate. We dropped our fees in the box and took a flyer before driving up the narrow road to the tree. Fortunately, there was only one family ahead of us who was taking pictures before leaving so we had the whole place to ourselves. MOR drove through the tree at least three times so we could take pictures from inside and out of the car. Real fun! I believe this one is smaller than the Drive Through Tree Park near Leggett but since we did not want to turn back towards Hwy 1 and 271, this was good enough.

Getting closer to Crescent City!

Front Street Inn, Crescent City

Our third time here at this simple motel. We like it here not because of the amenities of the motel but the location and the friendly owners. We called them directly instead of through the booking sites and they were able to give us further discounts, which was always nice. We paid around $80 for a night stay at this 'family suite'. Quite a good deal!

Just love the view from our window.

Our second time in this 'suite', like coming home.

Not fancy, just spacious.

The bedroom.

The RED tub.

Microwave, fridge, and coffee maker. 

Fisherman's Restaurant, Crescent City

After settling in, we went to look for dinner. When we were here last time, we went to the Chart Room twice and enjoyed our meals there. We were so looking forward to go back for some more. To our disappointment, Chart Room was closed when we got there at 7PM! Apparently, they close early on some days, probably because it's not summer season yet. Our second choice was to go to Fisherman's Restaurant, which was suggested by the motel owner. Menu selection was not as good as Chart Room, and the whole atmosphere just did not quite make it. It's true that prices are lower here comparing to Chart Room though.

Good start, clam chowder (and we had to ask for the rolls.)

We ordered steamed clams as appetizer to share. They were over cooked so the meat was not as tender as I like.

My main, forgot what kind of fish that was. Looks good, right?!

MOR's, some other kind of fish.

ChC's baked oysters. He said it was good.

Well, after having a couple of bites on my food, I had to wave down the waitress and asked her if they have a microwave to heat up my plate of food. It was cold to the point that I was afraid that I would get a stomach ache if I continue eating. It was much better after they heated it up. I am still wondering if that was the same plate of food that was returned to the kitchen that I saw the waitress delivered by mistake to another table earlier and had been sitting there for some time. The funny thing was they did not explain or apologize over the situation and just acted like nothing happened.

I have to say that this was NOT a pleasant dining experience. How I missed Chart Room!

After dinner, we drove over to the iconic Battery Point Light House but it was so cold and windy that after a couple of pictures I just had to get back to the car. It was nice to relax in the comfort of our room that evening.

Pictures of Peg House, first time at Front Street Inn, and Chart Room on our 2013 Trip here.

Chart Room and second time at Front Street Inn in 2013.